NEWS / Links:

Marco Anghileri has left us

Marco Anghileri 'Butch', 41 years old, great alpinist from Lecco and member of the Gamma climbing club, extremely well known, loved and held in high regard by the entire mountaineering world, has died on the Central Pillar of Mont Blanc. The body was recovered this morning by the Valle d'Aosta Mountain Rescue service.

Marco had set off from home, from Lecco, last Tuesday. He'd only shared his goal with a handful of friends: the Central Pillar of Frêney on Mont Blanc. He wanted to attempt the first solo winter ascent of a difficult route, better still legendary, one of those that have made history: the Jöri Bardill. A route first climbed, in 1983, to the left of the historic classic line by Michel Piola, Pierre-Alain Steiner and Jöri Bardill. A route that represented, and still represents, a manifesto of the utmost difficulties within the "temple" of Mont Blanc Pillars. On Wednesday, after having spent the night at Rifugio Monzino, Marco climbed up to Eccles. Then on Thursday he was already on the Pillar... and he climbed well, da par suo. So much so that the summit, and the end of the adventure, was scheduled for the next day, Friday. But instead, no more news from him. The mountain rescue helicopter located his body below Pilier Dérobé. Perhaps Marco fell from Chandelle. Or he'd completed the difficulties. Perhaps he'd reached the summit of the Central Pillar. And then... perhaps he was taken away by a gust of wind. Or perhaps, who knows...

As usual there are no certainties and one gets lost in a thousand doubts. In those millions of ifs that can have no answer. In those curses that you want to scream up at the sky, against everything and everyone. And that lead you to say that it's not fair. That it's all absurd... all wrong. Then though you think about Marco. About how many times you spoke to him about these things. You think about his smile as eternal good boy. And his love, innate and almost disproportionate, for alpinism. About his captivating enthusiasm. And so you cannot help but imagine him during his last night in the bivouac beneath the Chandelle, the final difficulties. You think of him beneath that sky. Lying on that rocky nest that looks out onto the world. And you know that that is where he wanted to be. You realise that that was his place. What he wanted.

You manage to see his unmistakable smile. You even almost manage to capture one of his dreams. He will certainly have thought about his family, about his wife, his children. And he will have thought about the thousand things in life. From up there, as often happens to alpinists, perhaps all these things will have seemed clearer. And then perhaps he will have thought about how much he had trained specifically for this ascent. About what he would have done the next day. About the summit. About the rush back home, about hugging his children. About happiness. He'd done this time and time again. Because Marco was a strong and sensitive man. And he was also an alpinist. A great alpinist, one of the best. Even if he didn't let this transpire. Even if he played things down. Perhaps because his love for the mountains, inherited from his grandfather Adolfo and from his father Aldo, was, has always been part of his DNA...

Of him one will certainly remember his ascents. Almost always alone, often first winter ascents. A glance at his curriculum leaves you dumbfounded. Countless climbs, many important, in the Dolomites and his beloved Grigne. But of Marco one cannot forget the courage he had in life. The strength he had to overcome the loss, due to a terrible road accident, of his beloved brother Giorgio. And the strength he had to beat what, at a certain point, seemed to have become a curse: his two road accidents. In particular the first, that seemed to have put to an end all his hopes of climbing again.

Marco succeeded, by fighting with incredible stubbornenss, to rekindle that passion without which he could not live. In the last few years he returned to his solo ascent, almost on tiptoes, so much so that at times it proved hard to publish something, to report about them. But then, he gave in... and we're all grateful to him for those récit d'ascension. He had the ability to be excited in the mountains and to share this excitement with those who read or heard his stories. We will miss these emotions. And above all we will miss Marco. He will be missed by many... we have all lost a friend.